All the Most-Wanted Prada Pieces Have This One Thing In Common

I’ve wanted a Prada Nylon backpack ever since watching the film 10 Things I Hate About You back in 1999. Fellow fans of the rom-com will no doubt remember the famous line, “I like my Sketchers, but I love my Prada backpack” just as well as I do. But teen romance aside, this quip has come to represent in my mind just how iconic Prada’s Nylon rucksack was, and still is, in the lexicon of modern fashion.

In fact, the practical, utilitarian fabric has gone on to become one of the luxury label’s most recognisable codes across more than just handbags— despite it being the opposite of everything you might expect from a glamorous Italian design house. Miuccia Prada herself introduced it in 1979 in a bid to change the trajectory of the label and inject some modernity when she took over the helm of the brand. Clearly the woman has good instincts, because not only did Prada’s Nylon pieces go stratospheric in the nineties and early noughties (those shoulder bags in particular), but fashion fans, insiders and the best-dressed celebrities are still obsessed with the pieces now, forty-three years later.

If you’ve been considering an investment, then this longevity at least provides a whole heap of confidence that your chosen piece will stand the test of time. That’s if you can get your hands on it. Usually black, minimalistic and bearing the iconic triangular logo, the Nylon collection—from bucket hats to shoulder bags, minidresses to puffer coats—are the most sought-after Prada buys, and therefore extremely hard to get hold of.

This might be your lucky day, though, as Prada and Matches have just had a fresh drop of Nylon icons, and since we’re not quite into the autumn/winter season yet when these monochrome pieces really come into their own, there’s still stock available on the most coveted pieces. In fact, I’m taking it as a sign to finally invest in that backpack.